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#girlsonfire: 95% of kids aren't eating enough vegetables

Aug 02, 2018

But Masterchef alumni Alice Zaslavsky is here to change that.

Turns out that not enough Australian kids are getting their recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. In fact the real statistics may just shock you; 95 per cent of children nation-wide aren’t fulfilling their quota when it comes to eating the suggested amount of healthy produce daily.

But how do we as a society combat that? Well as Masterchef alumni and primary school teacher Alice Zaslavsky suggests, it’s through a specially targeted new program. Enter Phenomenon, a digital program for grades 3-6 that promotes healthy eating and an understanding of produce for the modern, rather sophisticated young eater. The show consists of 25 episodes that can be downloaded and watched time and time again.

“The reason this project came to fruition is because the stats aren’t great. Only 5 per cent of kids are getting their RDI of veg, and it’s a number that hasn’t seemed to shift much over time,” explains Zaslavsky. “We undertook a large amount of research, in order to understand why the numbers haven’t budged, and what we might be able to do differently.

“Studies have shown that expectations of taste diminish when the H bomb is dropped. It’s time to shift the conversation away from health, towards hope, by making vegetables a normal part of everyday conversations, and getting kids familiar with fresh food before they even reach the table,” she continues.

For Zaslavsky, Phenomenom is all about creating food literacy within the wider population. It’s something that she believes can be done easily and (most importantly) on the cheap. “It’s an entirely free online resource comprising of lesson plans, activity ideas, and video springboards, that allows teachers across every subject to integrate food literacy into their lessons, without needing to find extra time or money, and complementing whatever else they’re already doing.”

Of course Phenomenom is also catered to the digitally educated new generation. The show was designed after ample research into what 8-12-year-olds are currently watching. The result? Heavily visual but snackable short pieces of content featuring kids of a relatable age. “Students are far more visual these days, so engaging episodic springboards like those we’ve produced kick off a class, activities support the themes, and then the learning can be reinforced by being available to be viewed online in their own time.” Special guest appearances are also made by Masterchef‘s George Calombaris, River Cottage Australia host Paul West, AFL champion Chris Judd, Mars One astronaut candidate Dianne McGrath, Olympic athlete Morgan Mitchell, and a host of experts across nutrition, psychology, and native foods.

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